SPECIAL MEDIA REPORT -- COVERAGE OF POTUS AF-

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 NEW DELHI 002433

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STATE FOR NP, AC, PM

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TAGS: KMDR KPAO PGOV PREL IN
SUBJECT: SPECIAL MEDIA REPORT -- COVERAGE OF POTUS AF-
PAK SPEECH IN INDIAN MEDIA -- Part II (continued)

SUMMARY: President Obama's speech on the way forward in
Afghanistan and Pakistan received extensive coverage
throughout India today. Indian media highlighted the
continued commitment of the U.S. in Afghanistan and
mentioned repeatedly that the GOI was "not complaining"
at being left out of a specific mention in the
President's speech. Ambassador Roemer's statement
amplifying and localizing the message was widely
quoted, with particular focus on his comment that India
is a key U.S. partner in the region. Many Indian
commentators speculated that the President's strategy
was largely dictated by domestic political compulsions.
They concurred with Indian officials and security
analysts that the "cancer" of extremism originated in
Pakistan, not Afghanistan. Editorials broadly showed
an understanding -- even appreciation -- of the U.S.
decision to first augment, then shrink U.S. troop
levels, but there was palpable disappointment at the
strategy's perceived silence on Pakistan. And while
there was divergence of opinion on whether the
President's new policy announcement will ultimately
bear fruit, there was complete unanimity that declaring
a withdrawal timeline to the enemy is a grave
misjudgment. Indians expressed concern that the
withdrawal of the U.S. from Afghanistan would encourage
terror groups to play the waiting game. End summary

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INDIA WELCOMES U.S. ANNOUNCEMENT
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1. India said it was not "complaining" about not being
mentioned in President Obama's speech. Instead, India
welcomed Washington's continued commitment in
Afghanistan, saying it was "very pleased" that pressure
on al Qaeda and the Taliban would not be eased.
Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor
was widely reported saying, "India is not complaining
at all. What you are overlooking is that our Prime
Minister has just been there. He received a pretty
thorough exposition of the US's views on the issue and
President Obama called him up in Delhi yesterday to
brief him further before his public speech."


2. THE TIMES OF INDIA said the speech was remarkable
for its gloss over the fundamental fact that the
extremist "cancer" originates in Pakistan, not
Afghanistan. The paper quoted Indian officials and
analysts saying Pakistan is the real problem, because
both al Qaida and Taliban originate from and are
nurtured there. The paper reported that President
Obama's decision to send more troops to Afghanistan
while at the same time announcing a deadline for their
withdrawal has left the Indian security establishment
racking their brains. While some feel that Obama needed
to pander to his party and domestic constituency,
others believe that the July 2011 deadline for troop
withdrawal will encourage terror groups, including
India-specific outfits like LeT and JeM, to play the
waiting game.


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EDITORIALS IN THE ENGLISH PRESS
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3. "THE ROAD AHEAD," editorial in centrist English
daily, THE TIMES OF INDIA: "Obama has probably made
the best of a bad situation. If Islamabad allows
militants safe havens, all the American efforts will be
wasted. New Delhi must not cavil if large amounts of
civilian aid flow into Pakistan, since that would shore
up anti-militancy forces. It must, on the contrary,
stay closely engaged with Washington and with Kabul and
keep reminding Washington and other international
capitals of the urgency of the task of turning
Afghanistan around, and itself remain ready to help."


4. "LIMITS OF THE AFGHAN SURGE," editorial in left-
influenced English daily, THE HINDU: "By far the
biggest weakness of the new Af-Pak policy is Mr.
Obama's inability to craft an effective strategy to
deal with the Pakistani side of the equation. In his
speech on Tuesday, the U.S. president spoke of a cancer
that has spread on both sides of the Durand Line. If he
stopped short of identifying where the malignancy was
worst, it was not for lack of information. Rather he
hopes to cajole or even threaten Islamabad into taking
action against the Taliban and other extremist groups
which operate from its territory. The only problem is
the 2011 exit date that Mr. Obama announced. Rawalpindi
might well be tempted to instruct the Taliban to lie
low till the appointed hour only to emerge triumphant
once U.S. troops begin to leave."


5. "SURGE, EXIT," editorial in centrist English daily,
THE INDIAN EXPRESS: "The world cannot object to Obama's
choice -- to end America's costly war in Afghanistan.
The exit strategy might encourage the Taliban and its
mentors to simply sit it out. Many will be downright
skeptical about the president's plans to entice
Pakistan to confront America's enemies by offering it a
solid strategic partnership. After all, some of
America's enemies are among the best friends of the
Pakistan army. For its part, Delhi should wish Obama
well, because our interests are the same: oust Al Qaeda
from the subcontinent, prevent the extremists from
returning to power in Kabul, persuade the Pakistan army
to dissociate itself from all terrorist groups
including the Lashkar-e-Toiba, and encourage Islamabad
to build normal neighborly relations with Kabul and
Delhi. At the same time Delhi must also prepare for
potential US failure in Afghanistan and a reduced
American commitment to Afghanistan from the middle of
2011."


6. "MR OBAMA GOES TO WAR," editorial in centrist
English daily, THE HINDUSTAN TIMES: "Mr Obama's
timeline is relatively open-ended, but this sop to the
left-wing of his party ensures that the Taliban will
continue to believe they need only wait. The only thing
likely to change this mindset will be bullets and
bodies."

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7. "HEADED FOR DISASTER: OBAMA'S NEW AFPAK POLICY WON'T
WORK," editorial in right-of-center, pro-BJP English
daily, THE PIONEER: "Given Mr. Obama's dithering and
his by NOW established inability to grasp the dynamics
of the South Asian region, there really is nothing
surprising about his 'new' initiative. If at all there
is something that merits attention is his attempt to
lay the blame at Afghanistan's door while absolving
Pakistan -- he has lashed out at the victim of
Islamabad-sponsored terrorism while praising the
criminal state of Pakistan."


8. "US POLICY WILL DISTRACT INDIA," op-ed by diplomatic
editor Shobori Ganguli in right-of-center, pro-BJP
English daily, THE PIONEER: "After the Americans exit
the region and if China emerges as the Asian moderator,
it will use every trick in the trade to needle India,
all in the name of 'encouraging' peace and stability in
Asia."


9. "OBAMA COMPOUNDS FOLLY," op-ed in right-of-center,
pro-BJP English daily, THE PIONEER: "The new Af-Pak
policy reflects Barack Obama's inability to grasp a
simple fact: The US cannot hope to defeat jihadi
terrorism by pampering Pakistan which sponsors jihad.
Like AfPak-1, the new policy is bound to fail, despite
his promise of bringing the war to a 'successful
conclusion.' Obama's AfPak Policy-2...is marked by
critical words for the Government of Afghanistan and
soft words for the rulers of Pakistan - as if evils
such as corruption, poor governance, narcotics
production and lack of accountability are confined only
to Afghanistan and one does not find these evils in
Pakistan.... Seeking partnership with a state perpetrator
of terrorism is not the way of ending it. That is what
Mr. Obama has done in his address."


10. "PAK FIRST AND ONLY THEN AFGHANISTAN," op-ed by
strategic editor Manoj Joshi in centrist English daily,
MAIL TODAY: "India needs to focus sharply on the
source of our greatest danger -- Pakistan. New Delhi
needs to ensure that any new Afghan initiative is
carefully calibrated to deliver positive outcomes in
Pakistan. New Delhi must be a part of the Afghan
solution and a major player in the Afghan game. It must
play to win."


11. "THE SPEECH WITHIN THE SPEECH," op-ed in centrist
English daily, THE INDIAN EXPRESS: "Obama strategy
appears to be to promise Pakistan long term
partnership, at the same time compel it to act against
all terrorist groups and build an Afghan army which
will be able to defend Afghanistan against the Taliban.
Though the speech at West Point appears soft on
Pakistan, it is clear that the focus of the strategy is
raising the Afghan force to enable responsible
transition of US forces out of Afghanistan, warning on
Pakistan's ambiguous relationship with terrorist
organizations, and outlining the continuing threat to
the US homeland. The Obama strategy is a challenge to

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the Pakistani Army and its Inter-Services
Intelligence."


12. "AFGHANISTAN IS NOW OBAMA'S WAR," op-ed in centrist
English daily, BUSINESS STANDARD: "Obama's plan could
provide an equal satisfaction to the Taliban, who NOW
know exactly when their enemy plans to leave. Is Obama
being too optimistic in saying that Pakistani public
opinion had turned against extremism and that Islamabad
was NOW genuinely on the side of America?"


13. "AFGHAN: INDIA IN NEED OF A RETHINK," editorial in
December 3, 2009 independent English daily, DECCAN
CHRONICLE: "More than any other country, and longer
than any, India has known the meaning of Pakistan-
nurtured terrorism, and the geography is not about to
change. The Taliban and Pakistan's ISI are likely to be
heartened with the Obama announcement, although no
timetable has been laid down."


14. "NOT QUITE NEW," editorial in centrist Kolkata
English daily, THE TELEGRAPH: "Why Mr. Obama commits
himself to a time frame is obvious. With 55 per cent of
the domestic population and a sizeable section within
his own party having turned against the Afghanistan
war, the initiation of the countdown had become a
necessary rider to an announcement of a troop surge,
without which Mr. Obama runs the chance of losing
whatever has been gained in eight years of fighting.
With the pious announcement of withdrawal, without the
groundwork complete, Mr. Obama may be giving time to
his adversaries in Afghanistan to work out their plot.
Meanwhile, he may be losing his own."

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EDITORIALS IN THE VERNACULAR PRESS
--------------


15. "OBAMA GOES FOR OSAMA," editorial in December 3
AMAR UJALA Hindi daily: "Obama has realized and
admitted that the Af-Pak region is the epicenter of
international terror. That's what India has been saying
all along! In that sense, there is an Indian stamp on
his newly announced policy. While the Af-Pak strategy
looks fine, from India's standpoint America is erring
in its high reliance on Pakistan. Of course it is a
compulsion for the U.S. to go with Pakistan, but
America needs to understand that Pakistan is where the
terrorism stems from!"


16. "AMERICAN DUPLICITY," editorial in December 3 AMAR
UJALA Hindi daily: "There is nothing new in President
Obama's Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy. It is another
duplicitous U.S. attempt to placate its supporters by
announcing 30,000 more troops, and pacify those
domestic constituents who want a pullout of U.S.
forces. How does Obama hope to end the Afghan war in 18
months, when the last eight years have only seen the
strengthening of the Taliban and the failure of the
western forces? Obama's Afghan plans do not seem likely
to work out by 2011."

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17. "OBAMA'S AFGHAN POLICY," editorial in December 3,
2009 Urdu daily, THE SIASAT DAILY: "President Obama's
new policy for Afghanistan seems to be weak toward
Taliban. The truth is that America is not prepared to
accept its defeat against Taliban."


18. "OBAMA COMES DOWN HEAVILY ON PAKISTAN WHILE
DECLARING THE AF-PAK POLICY," editorial in left-of-
center Marathi daily, APLA MAHANAGAR: "Not mincing any
words, U.S. President Barack Obama has confirmed that
Pakistan is a confirmed breeding ground of extremism
and sectarianism of every hue. Thankfully he has used
strong words asking Pakistan to act against Jihadi
outfits that threaten America and its allies from their
bases in Pakistan. This gesture is welcome."


19. "WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS," editorial in centrist
Marathi daily, PRAHAR: "President Obama is fearful of
angered reactions from the American people. Americans
have failed to appreciate the necessity of U.S.
presence in Afghanistan. The timetable for withdrawal
is specifically directed at Americans who are fiercely
against aggression in Afghanistan."


20. "MORE FORCES TO AFGHANISTAN," editorial in December
03, Bangalore-based, left-of-center Kannada daily
PRAJAVANI: "After announcing Afghan policy, U.S.
President Obama spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
and India should not take this telecon casually. India
just wants to put an end to Pakistan-sponsored
terrorism. It would be suicidal if India gets into the
Afghan muddle created by America. Now, India should
take cautious steps, in wake of changed U.S. policy
towards Afghanistan."
ROEMER